FABRIC TECHNOLOGY - YEAR 7 & 8 class dojo CREATURES By Lyn McLennan 2016 The first project for Year 7 & 8 Fabrics is to create your own ‘Dojo Monster’. You are to base your design off the Class Dojo avatar you have already designed.
You need to challenge and extend your fabric technology knowledge. As well as that, you get to make your own pattern and use a range of hand sewing techniques to add interesting and complex elements.
During the planning of the ‘Dojo Monsters’Unit, you will learn how to interpret different ideas and opinions in order to create an outcome that suits the expectations. For example, you have to think carefully about what type of fabric will work best for your design. Will you use woven fabric or stretch fabric? What effect will the fabric give to your design? These are the types of questions you have to ask yourself during the planning process. You also have to figure out; • Who your stakeholder would be?
• What purpose will the Monster be used for (a soft toy, a pillow, a 2D wall hanging?)
• How are you going to incorporate different ideas.
• What fabrics will make your monster look more dynamic?
• What other designs have already been made in shops, books or online?
• Which stitches will be most effective for your design?
Once you have finished your planning you get to test your pattern using frost cloth. We use inexpensive frost cloth to check if the pattern works, looks good and to check if it is the right size. If you don’t test your pattern before you make your design then you don’t know if it is going to work or not. Once the pattern works how you want it to, start making your ‘Dojo Creature’. You can use re-purposed fabric, buttons, and any other things you think might add appeal . During the planning and creating of this project ask your stakeholder for their opinions. These are people in our class who will help you to decide between ideas and encourage you to make a Monster that is to the best of your ability.
Task 2
Quilling your Dojo monster
Task 3
Design your own tea-towel or beach towel to give as a gift.
This six-week Ugly Creatures unit arose from Kylie Merrick's classroom focus on sustainability and her emphasis on the recycling of resources – she regularly asks for donations of materials through the school notices and also gets useful items from local businesses, sometimes materials destined for the dump.
For the unit, Kylie first discussed with her class how local designers have recycled materials for wearable art or make decorations out of leftover fabric. She suggested that they make ugly creatures (also known as crazy creatures or softies) from the materials in her fabric-scrap bins, pointing out that similar items are often sold at expensive prices in shops.
The ugly creatures were to be small (limited to the A4 size of some donated felt), decorated with left-over fabric scraps, and stuffed (with donated filling). Students were able to use any scraps/buttons/donated materials in the classroom and from home, or found objects such as shells or feathers.
The students' brief was to design a creature based on two animals (but not cats or dogs). They were asked to research unusual animals, to consider the different types of body parts, and to combine some features in their design. They also analysed the ugly creatures made by previous classes and those featured in shops, books and online.
After designing their ugly creatures, the students started pattern-making, which wasn't too challenging because Kylie showed them samples and shapes and explained how they had to think in 3D while making a flat pattern. They made their draft patterns from newspaper and modelled the creatures by stapling pieces together, at which stage some realised a feature they'd designed, such as a long neck, wouldn't work as intended because it flopped over. After refining the design, the students made their final pattern pieces.
One of the advantages of all the hand-sewing done in this project is that those students who don't take Textiles again go away with a level of competence which enables them at a later stage to sew on buttons, mend a broken bag handle, etc.
Kylie says that everyone did something interesting and different.
"They're really gorgeous, and I've never had two the same, they're all unique, everyone has their own ideas."
She varies the theme, depending on the class. In previous years a 'Superheroes' theme resulted in some wonderful creatures wearing capes, and a 'Frankenstein' theme produced some equally interesting outcomes. That year she read sentences from the book and students picked out some of the adjectives and sketched ideas as she read to them.
Ugly Creatures could easily be adapted for any level, and is a popular outcome, judging by the number of students from other classes asking to make them as well. Responding to a Year 13 request, Kylie planned to do a small senior project for the last two weeks of the course and invite a local textiles artist who works in this field to visit and work with the students in the classroom.
By Lyn McLennan 2016
The first project for Year 7 & 8 Fabrics is to create your own ‘Dojo Monster’. You are to base your design off the Class Dojo avatar
you have already designed.
You need to challenge and extend your fabric technology knowledge. As well as that, you get to make your own pattern and use a range of hand sewing techniques to add interesting and complex elements.
During the planning of the ‘Dojo Monsters’Unit, you will learn how to interpret different ideas and opinions in order to create an outcome that suits the expectations. For example, you have to think carefully about what type of fabric will work best for your design. Will you use woven fabric or stretch fabric? What effect will the fabric give to your design? These are the types of questions you have to ask yourself during the planning process. You also have to figure out;
• Who your stakeholder would be?
• What purpose will the Monster be used for (a soft toy, a pillow, a 2D wall hanging?)
• How are you going to incorporate different ideas.
• What fabrics will make your monster look more dynamic?
• What other designs have already been made in shops, books or online?
• Which stitches will be most effective for your design?
Once you have finished your planning you get to test your pattern using frost cloth. We use inexpensive frost cloth to check if the pattern works, looks good and to check if it is the right size. If you don’t test your pattern before you make your design then you don’t know if it is going to work or not.
Once the pattern works how you want it to, start making your ‘Dojo Creature’. You can use re-purposed fabric, buttons, and any other things you think might add appeal . During the planning and creating of this project ask your stakeholder for their opinions. These are people in our class who will help you to decide between ideas and encourage you to make a Monster that is to the best of your ability.
Task 2
Quilling your Dojo monster
Task 3
Design your own tea-towel or beach towel to give as a gift.
http://technology.tki.org.nz/Resources/Teaching-snapshots/Middle-Years-7-10/Ugly-Creatures
This six-week Ugly Creatures unit arose from Kylie Merrick's classroom focus on sustainability and her emphasis on the recycling of resources – she regularly asks for donations of materials through the school notices and also gets useful items from local businesses, sometimes materials destined for the dump.
For the unit, Kylie first discussed with her class how local designers have recycled materials for wearable art or make decorations out of leftover fabric. She suggested that they make ugly creatures (also known as crazy creatures or softies) from the materials in her fabric-scrap bins, pointing out that similar items are often sold at expensive prices in shops.
The ugly creatures were to be small (limited to the A4 size of some donated felt), decorated with left-over fabric scraps, and stuffed (with donated filling). Students were able to use any scraps/buttons/donated materials in the classroom and from home, or found objects such as shells or feathers.
The students' brief was to design a creature based on two animals (but not cats or dogs). They were asked to research unusual animals, to consider the different types of body parts, and to combine some features in their design. They also analysed the ugly creatures made by previous classes and those featured in shops, books and online.
After designing their ugly creatures, the students started pattern-making, which wasn't too challenging because Kylie showed them samples and shapes and explained how they had to think in 3D while making a flat pattern. They made their draft patterns from newspaper and modelled the creatures by stapling pieces together, at which stage some realised a feature they'd designed, such as a long neck, wouldn't work as intended because it flopped over. After refining the design, the students made their final pattern pieces.
One of the advantages of all the hand-sewing done in this project is that those students who don't take Textiles again go away with a level of competence which enables them at a later stage to sew on buttons, mend a broken bag handle, etc.
Kylie says that everyone did something interesting and different.
"They're really gorgeous, and I've never had two the same, they're all unique, everyone has their own ideas."
She varies the theme, depending on the class. In previous years a 'Superheroes' theme resulted in some wonderful creatures wearing capes, and a 'Frankenstein' theme produced some equally interesting outcomes. That year she read sentences from the book and students picked out some of the adjectives and sketched ideas as she read to them.
Ugly Creatures could easily be adapted for any level, and is a popular outcome, judging by the number of students from other classes asking to make them as well. Responding to a Year 13 request, Kylie planned to do a small senior project for the last two weeks of the course and invite a local textiles artist who works in this field to visit and work with the students in the classroom.